(The following statement was released by the rating agency) NEW YORK/SAO PAULO, May 02 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings considers Banco Santander Spain's offer to buy the minority-held shares of its Brazilian subsidiary as neutral to Santander Brasil's ratings. Banco Santander Brasil S.A. (SanBrasil: Long-Term Foreign Currency IDR rated 'BBB'; National Long-Term Rating 'AAA(bra)' by Fitch) announced on April 29th an offer by its Spanish parent, Banco Santander, to acquire the remaining portion (approximately 25%) of the shares that it does not already own of its Brazilian banking subsidiary. The Spanish parent's stated objectives for the proposed exchange of SanBrasil's shares for shares of the parent include the unlocking of long term value in the Brazilian business, the increasing of the weight of the Brazilian market, and making a financially attractive offer to its shareholder bases. Fitch views this announcement as having a neutral impact on the ratings as, in the short term, Fitch believes that this exchange does not result in a change in terms of the propensity for support of the bank and will not have an immediate impact on the bank's strategies for doing business in Brazil. Also, this program will require the approval of multiple regulators which is expected by September. Once approval is received, the share exchange is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of this year. The minority shareholders that do accept the offer will own shares in the Spanish parent bank and receive future dividends from them. Contact: Primary Analyst Robert Stoll Director +1-212-908-9155 Fitch Ratings, Inc. 33 Whitehall Street New York, NY 10004 Secondary Analyst Eduardo Ribas Director +55-11-4504-2213 Media Relations: Elizabeth Fogerty, New York, Tel: +1 (212) 908 0526, Email: elizabeth.fogerty@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.